Building



A. F. DEAM Jan. 26, 1960 BUILDING 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 8, 1953 INVENTOK A rf/izr p eam Jan. 26, 1960 BEAM 2,922,299

BUILDING Filed Oct. 8. 1953 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 A 7/4 Z'fi A T'TORNEYS Jan. 26, 1960 A. F. DEAM 2,922,299

BUILDING Filed 001:. 8, 1953 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVHV Q 14714 a) Deam A TTOR/VE Y5 Jan. 26, 1960 v A. F. DEA'M 2,922,299

BUILDING Filed Oct. 8, 1953 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR TTORNE VS Jan. 26, 1960 A. F. DEAM 2,922,299

BUILDING Filed Oct. 8, 1953 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 IN YEN TOR A TTORNEYS BUILDING Arthur F. Deam, Philadelphia, Pa. Application October 8, 1953, Serial No. 384,916 3 Claims. c1. 'Iz

The present invention relates to elementary schools, and suitably to other buildings in which the principles are applicable, such as other public buildings.

A purpose of the invention is to standardizeand mass produce a building so. as to reduce cost, obtain a' exterior appearances and treatments: in a building of standardized construction. 7

A further purpose is to make most effective use of a land plot while providing a maximum of outside exposure in various rooms. J I

A further purpose is to avoid the waste of interior space in long halls by providing a short commonhallway for a nest of rooms. A further purpose is to employ irregular tetragonal slab units, desirably of the 120, 60, 90, 90 variety,

which will form substantially. the complete floor or roof slab of each hexagonal building unit. t

, A further purpose is to mount theirregular tetragonal building units on a girder which extends from one'outside corner to the opposite outside corner of each polygon (hexagon), and radial beams extending tothe center of each polygon (hexagon). V

A further purpose is to-expose at least three sides of each polygonal building unit to the outside of the building and have one side common between units.

A further purpose is to group utility rooms around the hall, either immediately on the outside or immediately on the inside.

A further purpose is to centralize mechanical engineering equipment for efficiency, simplicity and economy with minimum lengths of ventilating ducts and pipes. I

A further purpose is to employ special columns at outside corners of two hexagon units, the columns preferably being formed by two sets of facing angles secured together or by three I-sections secured with the interior flanges connected together. i

A further purpose is to build a building in units each of which preferably consists of three and one-half hexagons.

Further purposes appear in the specification and in the claims. f r

In the drawings 1 have chosen to illustrate a few only of the numerous embodiments in which my invention may appear, selectingthe forms shown from the standpoints of convenience in illustration, satisfactory operation and clear demonstration of the principles involved.

Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of a building construction in accordance with the invention, the section being taken substantially on the'linela-l .of Figure .2.

0d of seating a girder in a Figure 2 is a first floor plan of the of Figure 1, the half at the right of the hallway showing therfioor plates and room arrangement and the half at the left of the hallway showing the column,'girderand beam arrangement. I V

Figure 3 is an enlarged plan section of one full room and portions of an adjoining room and hallway of Figure 2 with the partitions omitted.

Figure 4 is a diagrammatic second floor plan of the building of Figure 1.

Figure 5 is a plan view of one of the floor slabs in accordance with the invention. 4 a Figure 6 is a section of Figure 5 on the line 5-5. Figure 7 is a plan section on the line 7 7 of Figure 8 showning a column, girder and beams at one of the outside meeting corners of the hexagon units, built up of angles. Figure 8 is a fragmentary elevation of the;colurnn, girder and beams at an outside meeting corner of two hexagon .units. Figure 9 is a modified construction in plan section similar to Figure 7. V

Figure 10 is an enlarged fragmentary plan illustrating the manner of supporting the beamsand floor slabunits from the girder at the center of a room. i

Figure 11 is a section on the line 11- -11 of Figure 10. Figure 12 is a fragmentary perspective showing a methcolumn, together with alt er of a column'sh'own nate use of I-beams. v

Figure 12a is a view similar to Figure l2fshowing beams of equal web height seating in a column. Describing an illustration but not in limitation, and referring to the drawings: I i

An extensive demand exists at the presenttimefor elementary schools and to some extent for other public or semi-public buildings such as libraries, community houses, industrial plants, 'ofl ices, laboratoriesfand the like. In building elementary schools and other such buildings by traditional methods, in which substantially all fabrication is done atthe site, a very high cost *results, and it is difficult to obtain unitormlygood con-f struction.

The present invention is designed to make available the advantages of prefabrication and mass production, while at the same time avoiding sameness in exterior appearance, and permitting great adaptability to the pun pose intended. l l i In accordance with the invention, polygonal units preferably hexagons, are nested together with ,one com mon side at least on each adjoining pair of units, and with at least three sides exposed to the outside of the building. The hexagonal units areprefer'ably arranged in two groups of three and one-half, separated byjstair ways, and of course by the appropriate fire walls.

'The interior space is not wasted in long hallways, but access to all of the hexagonal units is provided by a common short hallway. The space'either'inside or outside the common hallway is desirably used for utility rooms. The interior space is also desirably'used as a pipe duct and ventilation channel. 3

The floor and roof of the building are desirably constructed from irregular tetragonal slab units, of concrete or other suitable material, which are identical and can at any time be disassembled and reassembled to construct a similar building. The irregular tetragonal units are all alike throughout the building in each one of the hexagonal units, and the tetragonal units can be arranged in any one of the positions to make up the floor or roof. Each tetragonal unit is desirably a 120, 60,90,- figure. Each one of the tetragonal units has lifting lugs which are desirably used also as tie-down con- I nections. The lugs can .be. omittedwherc suction grip-L V V Patented; Jan. 1960 pers, hooks. or other means. of lifting are used, and tie down is not required.

Girders run from one meeting corner to the next meeting: corner of the hexagonal units around the buildt g:v and beams extend radially inwardly and are connect'ed. at the center of the girders. The tetragonal floor slabunits: rest at the two sides on the beams.

It is desirable in many cases to employ special corner columns, which may be formed of opposed angles or sets of angles, or of three I-sections if the adjoining flange is joined.

, Considering now the structure shown in the drawings, in detail, the building of the invention comprises seven hexagonal units 20 arranged in groups of three and onehalf, and separated by a rectangular interior building space. having stairways 21; It will 'of course be recog nized that certain principles of the invention can be applied with six hexagonal units, three on either side. Whenviewed in Figure 1, it will be evident that there is asuitable foundation construction 22, and the first floor 23 may be supported directly on foundation units without utilizing the girder and beam construction of the presentinvention if desired. Each hexagonal building unit has three sides 24 exposed to the outside of the building, and therefore available for light and air. The exterior treatment of these outside sides 24 forms no 4 are provided in a penthouse 52 and exhaust ventilation is discharged above the roof 53 through outlets 54.

The roof and the floor of at least the second floor and permissibly also of the first floor are composed of tetragonal slab units 55 as shown in Figure of reenforced concrete, each of which has a 120 angle at its corner 56, 90 angles at the corner 57 and a 60 angle at the corner 58.

In order to align the. structure, it comprises preferably a primary abutment 60 at one end, an integral cross beam 61 between the corners 57 and secondary side beams 62 connecting each corner .57 with the corner 58. The interior portion also has cruxiform reenforcpart of the present invention, and it may consist of base supported walls, prefabricated panels, individually hung walls, or any other desirable exterior construction. As shown in Figure 1, windows 25 are desirably provided in the outside walls, and On the first floor the outside walls may also if desired be provided with doors 26 (Figure 2),.

' Each ofthe hexagonal building units also has two sides, which in at least some cases form walls 27 betweentwo building units. These side walls 27 lend themselves to chalk boards 28 in school rooms, 'or other similar wall uses, such as installation of prefabricated closets.

,The group of units provides an interior space 30 which extends directly across between opposing stairways 21 from one group of three and one-half hexagonal units to-the other, and also extends out toward the inner wall of. each hexagonal unit. This interior structure lends itself to different treatments. In the lower floor plan of Figure 2, a hallway 31 of generally oval form extends around the interior of all of the rooms, common to all of them, and is connected to each room by a doorway 32. Thespace at the outside of the hallway in this form provides toilets 33 for boys and girlsindividual to each. of the hexagonal building units, and therefore well adaptedfor primary grades of a school. At the center of the-hallway is provided an enclosure 34 which includes a pipe and: ventilating duct 35 and storage space, such as a teachers toilet. 36 and a janitors room 37.

The stairwayscommunicate with the hallway by land ings 38, and on the first floor there is suitably an entrance stairway 40 and a-stairway to the second floor 41 at. each: end of the building. Main doors are provided at42 at each end of the building. The construction just described will suitably be'varied on the second floor or upper floors, providing in the interior space of the building as shown in Figure 4, and hallway 43 which is generally oval and connects with each of the rooms by a door 44 on the inner side of each hexagon and an interior enclosure 45 which includes toilets 46, and interior ventilating and pipe ducts 47.

The ventilating and pipe ducts are above a cellar 48 which normally will include heating equipment, and it communicates with horizontal ventilating ducts 50 extending above the hallway 31 of the first floor, and ventilating ducts 51 extending above the hallway and toilets of the second fioor. These ducts likewise provide ventilation fromthe toilets, Suitableexhaust fans not shown ing beams 63 at the undersurface. At the interior at locations 64 and at the end at location 65, the structure is desirably somewhat lightened, although the slab at 65 may suitably be of the same order of thickness as the side'beam-i portions 55.. The top of the slab is flat.

Adjoiningficor'ners 57 and 58 suitable metallic sockets 66 are cast inithe concrete or other material of the slab and they have: exterior interlock flanges and threaded interiors, being: adapted to: receive threaded lifting eyes. '67 which. are removable. and also toengage hold-downbolts as later explained.

The main horizontalstructural members are girders 68 which. extendvfrom the outside. meeting corners of each hexagonal building unitto the next and likewise in the building units which adjoin the stairways, from the] corner. adjoining the stairway at the outside to the oppositez meeting corner with the next unit at the outside. The girders 68 depending upon the span in some casestakelthe form of trusses. They are supported on double columns70at1the meetingcorners at the outside and single columns 71 at the other. corners.

As. shown. in: Figures '7 and 8, the columns 7% desirably comprise four angles 72, 73, 74 and 75, pairs of which are facing one another and meeting. at the outer edges of the fianges,while: two of the angles are back tov back. They are welded together at their meeting outer corners at 76 to. form. a; unitary structure. Thus in angles 72 and 73" theiouterr edges of the flanges only adjoin and. likewise 'in angles 74 and 75. Angles 73 and 75.meetai the outer edges of one.of their. flanges.

' Thezcolumn has the. girder 68'connected thereto in any well known manner; and; suitably by angle plates 77. Beams 78 also extend radially to each'hexagon. corner and are:secured: to thecolumnas'by angle plates 79.

# In. some casesit ispreferabl to make up the column by I-sections: 80 as shown. in Figure 9, which are welded together at; 81'. along:the' inwardly directed edges of their flanges, forminga. closed configuration which is tied' into the girders 68.

At the;inner.end:of thecommon side of the hexagonal building;units, columns. 70 are also placed, and at various other corners or the" hexagonal building units columns 71 are provided. These columns 71 are preferably formed by two facing angles having sides of ditferent lengths as shown,- welded together at the corners. At the center of each girder. 68- brackets 82 are-secured to the opposite sides of the girder 68'and the brackets support one end of each radial beam- 78 which extends out to every corner of: the hexagonal] buildingunit except those to which the girder extends. Thus as looked, at in plan on the left side of Figure 2 there is either a beam or a girder every 60 from the centerof the brackets 82.

The top of the brackets are adjusted as to height so that the tops of the beams and the girders are on the same level as shown inFigure 11.

The slab units 55 reston the adjoining beams and/0r girders as best seen in Figures 3 and 10, each slab unit overlappingthebeam or girder byv a distance8'4' so that it cannot slip off. Thus as seen in Figure 3 there are eighteen of the slab units occupying the floor or roof spaceof each hexagonal building unit. In addition there are nine of the slab on: each side. ofthe. stairway occupying the interior space above the hall and/ or toilets.

At the outside walls and generally around the outside of the hexagonal building unit, beams are provided at 85 which cooperate with the adjoining beams 83 to hold the adjoining slab units.

It will be noted that at the corner 58 the slab units are cut off at 86 to avoid interference with the columns, and at the corner 56 the slab units are cut off at 87 to avoid a feather edge and permit better access to electrical equipment.

Since there is a possibility of exerting cantilever force on the thin portion 65 of the slab unit, it is desirable to tie the opposite end of the slab unit to the steel work, and this is done by tie bolts 87 (Figure 11) which thread into the sockets 66 after the lifting lugs are removed and suitably have hook ends to engage under the steel work.

It will be evident of course that any space in the floor left by cutting off thecorners at 86 or 87 will desirably be filled, as by concrete and then suitable flooring applied in the case of a floor, or suitable roofing in the case of a root.

Figure 12 shows a convenient means of tying in a girder to a column 71 of the opposed angle type. In this case a portion of the opposed longer flanges 90 is cut away at 91 so as to allow the ends of the beams to extend in and also rest on angle plates 92 secured to the column. Separate angles 93 support girders 85. Where all girders are of the same height of web, a single set of angles 92' will support all girders, as shown in Figure 12a.

It will be evident that any one of the 120, 60, 90, 90 degree irregular tetragonal units can be placed in any one of the eighteen positions in any one of the hexagonal building units. Therefore if it is necessary to dissemble the structure, the floor and roof can simply be removed, and the lifting lugs screwed back in after removal of any tie-down bolts, after which the slab units can be lifted by a crane and treated as interchangeable units vto be employed in a new building.

It will also be evident that since the major load is borne by direct downward bearing of the tetragonal units on the beams and girders there is no danger of displacement, and the tetragonal slab units can be very simply removed merely by elevating them, after any tie-down bolts are removed.

It will further be evident that the tetragonal slab units will desirably be produced under mass production conditions, and merely shipped to the location of use. However, if the job is large enough to warrant it, the tetragonal units can be produced on the job.

While special columns have been shown for use at the meeting corners of the hexagonal units, it will be understood that standard columns can be used if desired.

It will, of course, be understood that where desired the almost semicircular grouping of three hexagonal units can be separated more widely than in the form shown, or can be grouped to form an end of a building of some other type, offering the advantage of light on three sides and standardized construction. 1

It will also be understood that in special cases the interior construction need not function as a hallway, as in auditoriums and the like, in which case the utility rooms provided at the center and the pipe and ventilation duct can be omitted if desired.

It will furthermore be evident that while the invention has been illustrated in a building of two stories, the stories can be multiplied as desired, using a portion of the interior space for elevators.

It will also be evident that a single one of the hexagonal units can be employed as a separate building where desired.

In view of my invention and disclosure variations and modifications to meet individual whim or particular need will doubtless become evident to others skilled in the art, to obtain all or part of the benefits of my invention without copying the structure shown, and I therefore claim all such insofar as they fall within the reasonable spirit and scope of my claims.

Having thus described by invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A building comprising a generally circular cluster of six identical hexagonal units on a level and arranged around a center, each of the units having one side which is common with respect to one of the other units, each of the units having three sides exposed to the outside of the building, the units being arranged in groups of three units which are spaced between the groups, a hallway in the space interior of the groups, there being columns at the corners of the hexagons, radial beams within each hexagon and supported to the columns, and slabs resting on said radial beams.

2. A building comprising a generally circular cluster of six identical hexangonal units on a level and arranged around a center, each of the units having one side which is common with respect to one of the other units, each of the units having three sides exposed to the outside of the building, the units being arranged in groups of three units which are spaced between the groups, a hallway in the space interior of the groups, there being columns at the corners of the hexagons, radial beams within each hexagon and supported to the columns, and slabs each having a plurality of slab unit-s, and said slab units having sides resting on said radial beams.

3. A building comprising a generally circular cluster of six identical hexagonal units on a level and arranged around a center, each of the units having one side which is common with respect to one of the other units, each of the units having three sides exposed to the outside of the building, the units being arranged in groups of three units which are spaced between the groups, a hallway in the space interior of the groups, there being columns at the corners of the hexagons, radial beams within each hexagon and supported to the columns, and slabs each having a plurality of slab units, said slab units aflording sides resting on said radial beams and each of said slab units having one angle of approximately 120, two angles of approximately and one angle of approximately 60.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 94,116 Irwin Aug. 24, 1869 217,984 Brock July 29, 1879 358,083 Stewart Feb. 22, 1887 700,794 Martin-Cooke May 27, 1902 928,320 Moore July 20, 1909 1,335,104 Fouhy Mar. 30, 1920 1,998,017 Jaekle Apr. 16, 1935 2,198,985 Bailey Apr. 30, 1940 2,234,114 Gifiord Mar. 4, 1941 2,592,634 Wilson Apr. 15, 1952 2,706,538 Schumann Apr. 19, 1955 2,756,584 Shelton July 31, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 530,486 Great Britain of 1940 642,591 France of 1928 802,592 Germany Feb. 15, 1951 

